Panalpina ended the year 2017 with strong Air Freight volumes and margins, while in the fourth quarter margin pressure continued to impact the financial results in Ocean Freight. For the full year, Panalpina’s reported EBIT increased from CHF 82.0 million to CHF 103.3 million and the reported consolidated profit increased from CHF 52.3 million to CHF 57.5 million.

Al Rushaid is one of Saudi Aramco’s main suppliers and a large Saudi conglomerate which provides services through partnerships in many different industries including oil and gas, manufacturing and construction. Pending regulatory approval, Panalpina will be tasked with managing the logistical aspects of Al Rushaid’s subsidiaries and joint ventures.

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Panalpina is to acquire the Belgian companies Adelantex and AD Handling, specialized in the handling of perishables imports in Brussels, Liège and Ostend. The move follows similar acquisitions in Germany and the Netherlands earlier this year. This latest transaction involving Belgium’s market leader will further strengthen the Panalpina Perishables Network and the company’s end-to-end offering.

The purchase of a product often marks the end of a supply chain. But increasingly consumers are questioning the traditional linear process of “take, make, dispose”, demanding that manufacturers and retailers ensure that they reduce or eliminate waste. In the circular economy, logistics companies play an important role in extending the life of products through reuse, remanufacturing and recycling.

In an increasingly digital and automated freight forwarding environment, Panalpina is using Validaide, an open online platform it has co-developed, to qualify its key suppliers. The recently launched tool is already live in the first Panalpina business units, with all the remaining business units scheduled to go live by the end of the first quarter of 2018.

​Panalpina has grown fast in Czechia the last few years. To keep pace with demand, the company decided to consolidate its three warehouses into one facility of almost 7000 m2 within the modern logistics center in Pavlov, close to Vaclav Havel Airport Prague. Moving to this strategic location allows Panalpina to distribute shipments to customers across Europe and the globe more efficiently.

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​With the air freight peak season picking up, the skies are getting busier by the hour. Already in September, Panalpina’s global head of Air Freight, Lucas Kuehner, in an interview singled out HKG to LAX as one key lane where capacity would get even tighter. One month later, the scenario is a reality: “We are running at full capacity but will always find a solution for our customers."

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​The World Solar Challenge has started and our friends from the thyssenkrupp blue.cruiser are doing great! In case you missed it, here’s our previous feature on the blue.cruiser. Now let’s take a closer look.

​How often do you change phones? When you do, do you stop to consider what is behind that piece of equipment that has become so essential to our lives? There is a whole "take, make and dispose” industrial model involved in making a smartphone, and it is extractive and non-sustainable – the circular economy.

We cherish perishables. And so does a growing number of consumers in all corners of the world. Consumers increasingly seek quality fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods like seafood. To meet this rising demand, local producers are stepping in, many of them in places you would not expect. Here are five countries showing a fresh ambition when it comes to exporting produce.

The FPSO Glen Lyon is one of the biggest oil and gas production units ever made. During its tow from South Korea to Norway, up to 160 crew members representing 18 different nationalities worked and lived on board the Glen Lyon. But what is it like to work and live on a vessel that takes five minutes to walk from one end to the other? Panalpina talked to the captain to find out.

Come and join us for Asia Fruit Logistica 2017 in Hong Kong, where every facet of the international fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain will be in attendance. Make sure to stop by our stand at Hall 5, Booth 5-V26. We look forward to seeing you there.

Oct 17 - Oct 19

International trade show for the fruit and vegetable industry organized by FEPEX (Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants) Fact sheet: http://www.ifema.es/fruitattraction_06/Informacion_general/Fichatecnica/index.htm

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For an overview of the Panalpina Integrated Management Report 2017, see the microsite at http://annualreport.panalpina.com/. Users can build their own reports by choosing individual sections or can download the entire report.